Sailing No More
by melinda08
Summary: Alternate ending to Toy Story 3. After being seperated from Andy for many years, Woody finally gets the reunion he's always dreamed of- with a little surprise. slightly re-edited


_Clearly I will go sailing no more_

Woody was tired. There were so many games of Cops and Robbers a toy could play without losing his mind. He loved his friends, dearly. He wouldn't have chosen to stay in the attic if he didn't love them. He just never imagined it would have been so lonesome up here. Even in a group of people it was possible to feel lonely. It was Andy. It had to have been. After all of these years he'd never stopped thinking about the little boy who'd given Woody the best years of his life, and what Woody liked to think was vice versa. Woody had hoped he was more than a toy to him- he was a friend. Andy had shared the best part of him with Woody- his imagination. But Andy was gone, and he was never coming back.

For the first couple of years Woody had convinced everyone that Andy would be back. Andy would never just forget about them. There would be holidays, there would be trips back home. Andy would never just let them lie there, no better than the moth balls in his sister's outgrown clothes boxes. He would remember them. But as the years went on, it was clear, even to Woody, that it was never meant to be. Woody and the toys were permanent fixtures of the attic, much as was the old black and white television was. Not even Woody could remedy this.

Buzz would step in from time to time to remind them that at least they were together. A natural leader, he was born, if you will, with the natural optimism that Woody sometimes lacked. But he and Woody sometimes fought with this attitude. Sometimes not even Buzz could pull Woody out of the funk he'd gotten himself into. The rest of the gang tried, especially Jessie, but no one knew Woody the way Buzz did. Sometimes it took Woody days, even weeks, but eventually he came around back to his normal fun loving self. It was a good thing too. He was the leader of the crowd; the gang looked up to him and they depended on him for so much. When he was down, the rest of the gang felt down as well.

It got to a point where no one would mention Andy around Woody. They couldn't bring themselves to see him in that kind of pain. If someone were to slip and say his name they were met with an icy stare or a bitter diatribe that they were just toys, and had outlived their usefulness ages ago. One time he'd even gotten mad at Buzz for no reason. He yelled at him, asking why did anyone listen to him in the first place about going in the attic? He said they all would have been better off going their own separate ways being donated to daycare. No one spoke for days.

Then one day the oddest thing happened. Footsteps were heard coming into the attic. This was huge. No one had ever heard anyone coming into the attic before. This was at least ten years. Ten years of arguing amongst themselves, ten years of loneliness, ten years of waiting for daylight that never came. Finally someone was here.

Downstairs the box was eagerly opened. Out came Slinkydog. A little rusty, nevertheless he was stretched into fine form. Hamm was next. He still had some leftover change, and was rattled for good measure. Rex was still as intimidating, or not, as ever. The aliens were there. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head still had all of their parts. Jessie and Bullseye made quite the team as ever. Buzz Lightyear still played "To Infinity, and Beyond"… music to the ears.

And finally, the moment both Andy and Woody had waited over a decade for. Woody was pulled out of the box and looked Andy right in the eyes. This was it. He was in the hands of his beloved owner. There were no words to describe what either one were feeling at the moment. For Andy, it truly was coming home again. For Woody, it was years of self-hatred and self-doubt, fears and loneliness all coming together to know that he was truly loved. He was back in the hands of the one who had loved him the most- a day he had never thought would happen again.

"Woody, I would like to introduce you to someone special. Matthew, come here please." Over walked a wobbly four year old."

Andy placed Woody in Matthew's hands. " Matthew, this is Woody the cowboy, my special friend. Woody, this is my son, Matthew. I know you two are going to be the best of friends. You both have given me the best years of my life and I thought that it was high time that you met."

Matthew kissed Woody and then started carrying him around the house. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

The end


End file.
